Santogold @ The Guvernment
By: Ama Scriver
Toronto sure is sleeping on Santogold, despite the fact the she is one of the most hyped artists of 2008. It was a rather disappointing crowd at the Guvernment, though it did eventually grow a bit. My guess: lack of promotion. The place was not nearly as full as it should have been and, Toronto, you missed an amazing show put on by a fantastic new artist.
Santogold is an artist in a category all her own. She combines so many beats and flavours that it's hard not to find something you can groove to. Around 10:50pm, Santogold's DJ took to the stage warm the crowd up for the impending performance. The stage setup was rather limited, composed of two microphones for robotic back-up singers (who looked similar to windup dolls or Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Girls, only with more neon) and the DJ. Then, after about ten minutes, Santi jumped on stage.
What surprised me initially about her performance was just how great her voice sounded. As she launched into hits like "L.E.S. Artistes" and "You'll Find A Way", her voice was strong and sounded exactly the same as it did on the album. For an electro-type artist to replicate her voice live was astonishing to hear. Especially since many artists nowadays are overproduced and don't live up to the anticipation.
Miss Santi White's crowd interaction was also key. She told the eager audience: "I love coming to Canada. You guys are great." And she definitely looked like she did. After playing some more songs off her self-titled album – and some songs from her mixtape with Diplo (DJ and M.I.A. producer) – Santogold invited people to join her onstage as she played one more track. The security and her handlers looked a little nervous about this, their heads peaking and inching closer to the stage. But Santogold wanted to have a dance party with her Toronto peeps, so she started into her most notable (and funky) song "Creator". People were bouncing and grinding with Santi while she ran around the stage like a gleeful child, eventually ending up on the speakers.
Aside from the crowd, the only disappointment with this show was how short of a set she played. In fact, everything about the night seemed cut short – including the opening acts Let's Go To War and A-Trak. While it gave the show that more intimate feeling, it left you feeling unsatisfied and kind of wanting more.
One thing's for certain, though: Santogold lives up to her hype – through and through.
Video - Santogold @ The Guvernment - Toronto, Canada
